Warm climate brings travel trade surplus

Cyprus has the third highest positive travel trade balance among Mediterranean countries after Croatia and Malta — that is it collects more money from visitors than their nationals spend abroad, according to a Bloomberg report citing a study from BNP Paribas’s Raymond Van Der Putten.

Northern nations such as Germany, Finland and the U.K. generally post deficits, it said.

According to the report entitled ‘The Economic Benefit of a Warm Climate” it said that the countries that benefit the most are Croatia, followed by Malta and Cyprus. Then come Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and France which has the lowest travel trade surplus.

The figures are given as a percentage of GDP. Cyprus had a surplus of 8% of GDP, Croatia 17% and Malta 10%. In the case of Greece the surplus was 7%, while Portugal had 6%, Spain 3% and Italy and France 1% each.

Germany and Finland both have a deficit is 1.5% while the UK a deficit of 1% of GDP.